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By mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry
Wagon clipart link … https://clipart-library.com/clipart/713877.htm
(For those just popping in, this is an imaginary scenario that's part of a class we are doing and not real life.)
It’s day 8 of no power (except for that one hour of power) and still no word on when it will be restored.
Water is questionable, depending on where you live? (If you’re on city or county water and it’s
still flowing, is it safe to drink?)
Employment is hit and miss, without power your and or your
husband’s employer has sent you home until this ‘crisis’ is over.
The schools are ‘temporarily’ closed until further notice.
Everyone is home together, learning how to coexist without driving each other crazy! You might even say that you're beginning to get 'on each other's nerves' a bit!
In addition, everyone is starting to get a bit of cabin fever, including yourself so you take yourself off for a walk, by yourself … or at least that’s your intention!
You open the door and, in your eagerness to start your walk, you trip over your own feet and take a tumble out the door. If you have steps, this could be a serious tumble!
You sit stunned for a moment as realization sinks in that your right
foot is hurting pretty badly.
You look down at it and you see blood oozing from a gash, and the whole
foot is swelling.
You know instantly that this is not good! What are you going to do? How are you going to treat your injury?
Okay, let's test your medical preparedness ... how are you going to handle this?
mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27
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Well, I hobble back in and go to the bathroom to run a bucket of cold water. Get the blood washed off to see what is really the problem! Raised three kids and one extremely klutzy husband so no panic. Grab a dry washcloth to apply pressure until the blood stops. Have hubs get the antibiotic and stretch bandage to make what I hope will be a temporary fix, never know with Patsy though! LOL
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, LOL ... you are so right ... stay tuned ... the plot will thicken!!!
DeleteBack into the house I go. First wash off the blood, apply antibiotic cream and bandage. Then get ice from the freezer that is being run by the generator. Apply ice and elevate my foot. Sue in Mn
ReplyDeleteSue, yeah, you have access to ice! That will be very helpful with how soon you recover!
DeleteWash the wound with bottled water that I know is safe and then head for the butterfly bandages. I put those on the gash and then cover with gauze squares and wrap with an ace bandage to put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. I would also use an antibacterial essential oil blend to help prevent infection.
ReplyDeleteLana, your notes are going in my notebook! Can you suggest an antibacterial essential oil blend to help prevent infection?
DeleteYou could use the First Aid blend or 75 percent Cleansing mixed with 25 percent Warrior.
DeleteLana, thank you!
DeleteFirst of all I'd be cursing loud and clear at my own stupidity! If he's in the house, husband would come to see what I'm cursing about. Then I'd hobble if possible back inside and tend to it as best as I could to clean it up. First wash the wound and gauge the damage and treat that, then sit with my foot up to attempt to reduce the swelling with an ice pack being kept frozen via the generator for which we still have fuel. Then I'd strap it and stay off it as much as possible - much easier when it's just you and your husband, no kids, no jobs to worry about. The medical kit has almost everything possible you would need in it so no difficulty there and I faced such a scenario a few months ago when we were in a remote area on holidays and my husband slipped and fell, landing on his wrist which was already damaged through an earlier motor bike accident. I had my medical kit with me and treated his many wounds and cuts from top to bottom, he was a bloody mess, and we didn't need to visit a medical centre or ambulance which would have been difficult to access where we were anyway.
ReplyDeletePam, I hope your husband is recovering nicely. A well-stocked medical kit is invaluable, isn't it!
DeleteSo I get myself back inside. Feeling sick which I know is shock. I am on my own. On blood thinning medication so the bleeding is horrendous! Manage to tightly bandage the ankle to try and stop the swelling and bleeding. Ice packs are slushy but cold. I grab the witch hazel and pour it over the bandages as it has a cooling effect plus it is anti bacterial. Now trying to work out how I get to medical care. It’s my right ankle so driving will be problematic.
ReplyDeleteCan’t call emergency services as the power has meant the communication systems are hit and miss. Hopefully I haven’t broken a bone. Keeping an eye on the pulses in my foot. I take some paracetamol for pain.
Janine Colac Victoria
Janine, your tip about witch hazel is going in my notebook and yes, blood thinning medication would need to be taken into consideration with this type injury. I'm glad you brought that point out!
DeleteJanine. I completely forgot about witch hazel! Going on my list of things to buy! Tina
DeleteI would get myself back inside the house (probably with the help of my husband), wash the blood off and see if I could stop any further bleeding by applying pressure. Depending on how bad it seemed I might also send him running across the street to my friend and neighbour, who is a retired nurse and is my 'go to' person when I don't want to bother a doctor, to assess it and see if the gash needs stitches or just antiseptic and a dressing. I always have bandages and antiseptic to hand, so she would probably be able to sort it out for me if that was all that was required.
ReplyDeleteTracy, you are blessed to have a retired nurse in your neighborhood! That would be comforting and reassuring indeed!
DeleteOnce I recover myself (I hate falling! Who doesn’t?) I limp back to the house, rinse and wash my foot using some of the boiled water I keep on the stove and just plain soap. Taking black pepper out of my first aid kit, I sprinkle it on the wound to stop the bleeding. This is a trick we learned from Daddy’s cardiologist and it works! (Also works on animals!) I look for any sign of displacement, place a gauze pad over the wound, wrap the foot and ankle with an ace bandage to reduce swelling, and make sure to rewind every few hours and to assess. The ace will also help keep the bleeding stopped. I keep my foot elevated as much as I can and happily knit away until Patsy throws in a monkey wrench! 😆
ReplyDeleteMatty, I love it! You know I have to keep everyone alert and 'on their toes' ... situations like our scenario don't allow for complacency!
DeleteThanks for the info on black pepper! I've made a note in my preparedness notebook, for future reference.
DeleteI have never heard that tip before!
DeleteI did this last winter without the gash thankfully, so I have bandages , an ankle brace, crutches etc. I use super glue on small cuts. My bioengineer brother told me any brand is the same and doesn’t grow bacteria. Butterfly bandages or steri strips can help close wounds. Ace bandages will help with a lot of things and aren’t expensive. I keep a stash of those. Mel in Co.
ReplyDeleteI have always been reluctant to use superglue on cuts because of the worry about introducing infection into the wound, so that is really interesting info from your brother.
DeleteMel, that's some useful information about super glue and it not growing bacteria.
DeleteCurse my luck and call my husband for help. Hobble back into the house, flush the wound with cool water to assess the damage. Apply some antiseptic and bandage(s) followed by an ice pack and elevation to minimize the swelling. We keep acetaminophen on hand for pain relief.
ReplyDeleteSuzinWa, good plan!
DeleteBeen there, done that! And broke my glasses last time. After recovering myself, I'd gather myself up and head inside, attempting to determine if anything was broken. Using bottled water, I'd assess the gash to determine if stitches are needed. If so, 911 would be called, since I live alone; if not, I'd wash it thoroughly with bottled water (since, although the Village says water is safe to use, I'm skeptical) and apply antibiotic ointment and a butterfly or other bandage as required. I'd then probably head out to let the pup do his business (since that was my original goal, before falling) and then sit on the deck with my foot propped up after. I'd also take some ibuprophen to help reduce pain and inflamation, as well, and continue monitoring the wound. I'm a retired widow, so have no where to go and no spouse to console. The neighborhood is full of kids out of school, due to this outage. And, all I want is some peace and quiet right now, as I nurse my wound and try to read my book. While I enjoy the daily chatter of neighbors now and again, the continual screams of children outside unsupervised all day is driving me nuts! Their parents need to be parents, not let them just run wild all day! Maybe I need to take an additional ibuprophen to reduce the tension!
ReplyDeleteDuring our seven day outage after Helene the kids were supervised since most parents were home. It was a nice time of families being outside and neighbors who had not talked in years catching up with each other.
DeleteLori, you're wise to be careful how you use the water that's coming out of the tap at this stage of our scenario. Just because we are told it's safe to drink and use, doesn't necessarily mean it is.
DeleteInteresting point about broken glasses. I keep a strong over the counter reading glass here at home so I can read in bed (bi-focals make that hard). I keep several pair on hand as I tend to buy four or six at a time. I should get some for my husband as well, just in case.
DeleteI posted earlier but apparently it was lost in the ethernet. After falling I would first curse my luck and then call my husband to help me hobble back into the house. I would wash out the wound, apply some antiseptic, bandage the cut and then apply ice/cold pack and elevate my leg to help decrease the swelling. We keep acetaminophen on hand for pain relief. I would probably spend the remainder of the day reading and wondering what Patsi has in store for us next. SuzInWA
ReplyDeleteSuzinWa ... hehehehe ... stay tuned!!!
Delete.Clean the cut - apply antibiotic cream and bandages
ReplyDelete.Check to see if can move it more or less properly
.Get out an icepack (power for an hour will at least keep these sorted)
.Get onto the couch and elevate my foot and then apply icepack
Margie, the power for an hour was a one time thing. It doesn't happen every day or even every other day!
DeleteWell. This fall is not good. I’am already struggling with a work injury. So this will be a serious set back, I’ve come so far! My husband, hopefully home, would have to help me into the house. If alone. I would have to give myself several minutes. Very carefully try to get myself into the house. Carefully clean and bandage with antibiotic ointment. Make sure I didn’t break anything. Put what cold i can on my ankle, if i can still move. Sit with it raised. Advil because I’d be a complete mess of pain. Tina
ReplyDeleteTina, and the shock and trauma to the body from a fall needs to be taken into consideration as well!
DeleteActually it was Hubby who pitched himself off the ramp onto the the side of the tractor. First is be still until I can get down to you, check to see how bad what ever is cut is. He is retired EMT so we have a LOT of medical stuff. IF it needs stitches I do butterfly bandaids like Mother and Grandmother used to as we had no doctors or hospital not touching no insurance when I was growing up. Yes I have sewn up a couple minor cuts also. We have crutches, and walkers (still searching for used wheelchair at Goodwill). Needs to be off leg, foot raised and with ice. We don't do Advil, Aleve etc if something is bleeding as it thins your blood. As for power being out, we have 2 generators, fuel on site, candles,oil lamps and a wood stove to heat with and cook with and solar pump on the deep well. Our biggest issue would be canning what meat that is in the freezers. Goal is to be canning most of our meat in 5 yrs.
ReplyDeleteChef Owings, that's a good idea to have the medical equipment on hand should it be needed, I need to start doing the same. You've shared several good bits of info, thank you!
DeleteWe have well water, so the issue isn't safe water, it's do we have access to any? With us living as rurally as we do, if there's no way to get gasoline (pumps being electric), we're going to be sitting very tight here at home.
ReplyDeleteMuch amusement over the 'starting to get on each other's nerves' statement. I'm afraid that battle was lost two days in when the electric was still off, and John was bugging me to 'call the power company one more time'...lol. By this point I've either gagged him or we aren't speaking.
John is a retired EMT so he could handle the injury and has bandages and topical applications we can use to put on wounds. Keflar compression bandages are a highly stocked item in our home...As in a case of the rolls! Juls mentions ice and I just saw where someone mentioned getting ice packs that are like those light sticks we give kids to play with. You can break something inside the package and the package gets cold. You can get heat packs like that too. The ice packs might be very handy to have for injuries!
We're 'retired' so no employer worries...but we'd need a supply of cash on hand, preferably smaller bills, that we could use if we could purchase anything at all. If the electric is out, the stores are likely not operating and neither are banks, gas pumps etc., so I don't see how we'd purchase anything if we did want to do so. Unless like my friend, who following Helene, I had gasoline to drive two or three hours to whatever town did have supplies and electricity.
We'd have to be very careful about using what water we do have, remembering that hydration is the first and foremost thing, taking priority over baths. Food shouldn't be an issue yet with our supply of canned goods but by this time anything frozen will be done for if we couldn't get gas for the generator.
I'd likely go ahead and start clearing the freezer. If we still have gas to run the generator, we'll eat well for a few days. And when I find we can't keep it going, I'll start clearing it out and get rid of the foodstuffs. No need of letting it sit and rot indoors.
What I see here more than anything is the need to have beverages on hand as well as water. Juices, water bottles, etc., would be much appreciated about now. I think we could survive with canned foods at the moment. It would be repetitive and tiresome but it's food. But liquids for thirst/hydration...that's the biggest deficit I see in my household at present as far as the most basic needs go. Other things would be nice to have but aren't necessary.
As for the kids, no reason why the parents can't send them outdoors to play during the daylight hours. I only have three grandkids that live across the field. The rest are scattered over this state and two others. So I don't expect to entertain the kids under these circumstances.
I have a well-stocked library here at home and if nothing else we can read while it's daylight, John can play his guitar, and we can contemplate whatever we might need to be doing in the situation to continue to survive.
Again, our main priority as near as I can see would be the need to get water or gasoline for the generator.
Funny thing, John's no idea I'm taking this course with you, but he's been talking more and more about getting a propane run generator and a second tank to run it on...I'm not discouraging that thought! For my part, I'm pushing getting a small gasoline tank (with a gravity pump) so we can keep gasoline on hand for the gas generator and to keep the cars going. Both are valid ideas, just a matter of seeing what we might do first.
Terri @BlueHouseJournal
We have six LP tanks and it is not near enough. One tank lasts 12 hours.
DeleteTerri, I love the details included in your comment. It's so helpful to see how others do things! Water would be our main priority as well and the next thing would be gasoline for the generator. I'm going to look into seeing what the costs are for a solar pump to determine if that is even feasible.
DeleteLana, good to know! We could rent another 200 gallon tank for $40/a year but we'd need to do that well before the event we're in at present...And then decide if the generator is to be permanently hooked to it or how to do that, so that's going to take some thinking/planning.
DeleteTerri- I was thinking about eating from the fridge and freezer and realized a thermometer would be crucial to know if the food is being kept at a safe temperature. I think I remember reading that the freezer is safe for a few days. We had internal thermometers with an outside alarm at our last house but I haven't used them since we moved.
DeleteHave I missed some posts? This got serious fast!
ReplyDeleteI guess you may as well cut off my foot because I'm done here.
Seriously though, here are my thoughts.
As for my husband's & son's employers sending them home, we would be fine financially if we all lost our jobs today....if we could get to our accounts.
We have lots to occupy ourselves too: books, games, trails through the woods along the lake, fishing, ect Plus all the work to just take care of ourselves.
With an injury like this I'd stop the bleeding & wrap it well. I have pain medication on hand so I'd take that as needed. If it was worse the next day, I'd send my son out on his bicycle the two miles to my neighbor who is a firefighter & ask him to look at it.